Japan Airlines finds way back into Vietnam’s fast-growing market with Vietjet deal: report

Having split with Vietnam Airlines last year, the Japanese carrier is looking for another slice of the action.

Japan Airlines is set to team up with Vietnamese low-cost carrier VietJet to rebuild its presence in the fast-growing market, the Nikkei Asian Review said on Tuesday.

A timeline has not been revealed but the agreement will include code-sharing and will allow passengers to transfer reward miles between the two airlines, the report said.

Popular Vietnamese beach destinations Da Nang, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc are likely to be on the sharing list, as are new routes Vietjet plans to open to Japan this year, it said.

Japan Airlines was allied with Vietnam Airlines but ended the partnership last fall after ANA Holdings, the parent company of its Japanese rival All Nippon Airways, acquired an 8.8 percent stake worth around $106 million in the Vietnamese flag carrier.

Nikkei said Vietjet hopes that teaming up with a similarly powerful partner will give it a stronger foothold in the international market.

Vietjet was founded in December 2011, and was Vietnam’s first private carrier.

The “bikini” airline, nicknamed after its unique yet controversial promotional campaign depicting a female crew in bikinis, now accounts for 41 percent of the domestic market, only one percent behind Vietnam Airlines.

It went public last February and aims to beceome the Emirates of Asia.